The major overall aim of the Houston SCOR in Arteriosclerosis is to study the mechanism of plasma lipid transport and its relationship to the etiology of atherosclerosis. The determinants of lipid-binding by the plasma lipoproteins are being investigated. The interaction between the plasma lipoproteins and their protein constituents and enzymes which affect plasma lipid transport, lecithin:cholesterol acyl transferase and lipoprotein lipase, are being investigated. Studies related to the arterial wall include the following: isolation and characterization of a new elastin-like protein from connective tissue; examination of the potential role of glycosaminoglycans in the trapping and precipitation of lipoproteins within the arterial wall; and elucidation of the mechanisms of fatty acid synthesis and accumulation (as cholesteryl esters and triglycerides) in arterial tissues.